Regarded as Queensland's premier Celtic group, Súnas been delighting audiences around Australia and overseas with their fresh and exciting take on traditional Celtic music. Known for their engaging and intense stage presence, they are a group not to be missed. Súnas is a fiery four-piece band featuring multi-instrumentalists and exquisite three-part vocal harmonies. They play a unique and unforgettable blend of original, contemporary and traditional tunes and songs.
The debut album ‘A Breath Away from Shadow’ was awarded four out of five stars by the Courier-Mail, and five stars by iTunes. Their second album, ‘Celtic Road’, was released with the ABC in 2011, was 5-starred by Amazon and spent over 10 weeks in the Aria classical/world charts, climbing to number 4, and made the ABC’s top 10 best-selling albums of 2011. Songs from the album are on rotation on radio stations nationally. The accompanying Live in Concert DVD still receives regular airplay on pay TV and is part of the QANTAS inflight entertainment. Singer Sarah Calderwood released a solo ABC album late last year that also reached the top 10 and is receiving worldwide airplay. They have collaborated with the likes of Mike Scott (the Waterboys), Shane Nicholson, Alan Kelly (Ire) and Kevin Crawford (Lunasa), and tracks from the albums are on numerous compilation and ‘best of’ CDs. A third Súnas album is currently underway.
The band has been in existence for more than a decade and has established a strong presence on the Australian folk festival circuit where they have headlined the Cygnet, Tamar Valley and Fleadh Ceol Folk Festivals interstate and were chosen to perform their own music at the ’09 Woodford Festival opening ceremony. They have also appeared at the National, Snowy Mountains of Music, Wintermoon and Port Fairy Folk Festivals, Fête de la Musique (which was broadcast to France) and the Queensland Multicultural Festival.
In late 2009 they toured folk clubs all over the UK, were the first Australian band to perform at the Cornish Lowender Peran Festival, and finished the tour with Dougie MacLean’s Perthshire Amber Festival alongside the likes of Frances Black, Beoga, Julie Fowlis and Eddi Reader. They were one of four acts chosen to play the prestigious Caledonia Concert, which was broadcast by the BBC as part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations. They performed in Russia for St Patrick's Day in 2010 and so far this year have been among the top-billed acts for both the National Folk Festival, the Bellingen World Carnival and the National Celtic Festival. They will be returning overseas to tour in 2012.
Súnas consists of Sarah Calderwood (vocals, flute/whistles), Paul Brandon (guitars/gazouki/bodhrán), Mannie McAllister (bouzouki/mandolin, vocals) and Michael Patrick (fiddle/vocals/mandolin).
Sarah has been playing the flute for twenty years and singing longer than she can remember. She studied Musical Theatre at university and has toured Denmark, Norway and Sweden with the Australian Youth Orchestra. She also plays piano and writes much of the original Súnas material. Born in Adelaide, Sarah has an English/Scottish background. She has just finished 'As Night Falls', her first solo album for the ABC.
Paul was raised in Kent, England and came to Australia in 1994. He first picked up a guitar in his teens, and it was seeing Donogh Hennessy and Tony McManus at a Woodford Festival that gave him the inspiration to learn alternate tunings. Paul also plays the bodhrán and a strange bouzouki/guitar hybrid called a gazouki. When he's not gigging, he's an acclaimed author of several novels and short stories. He has his own website here.
Born in Belfast into a family of entertainers, Mannie arrived in Australia in 1981. His first band was the duo, Two's Company, which expanded into the four-piece, Blackthorne, who toured extensively and recorded a number of albums. Raglan Street then followed, before finally starting Súnas with Paul and Helen. Mannie plays the bouzouki, the mandolin, sings and also plays guitar.
Michael Patrick BA, BMus, AmusA (he made me write that bit!)
Queensland born, Michael Patrick became interested in learning the violin when his older sister began lessons and would arrive home every Friday afternoon after her lesson with a chocolate milk. The rest his history!
Michael studied Violin and Viola at the Canberra School of Music and the Queensland Conservatorium under John Curro. He has performed in numerous bands and orchestras around Australia and overseas. From concerts with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra to regular appearances at many of the major music festivals with different bands (Mango Jam, The Noodies, Little Creatures, Present Company, Sunas), his musicianship spans a diverse range of musical genres (was once also a drummer in a teenage punk band though he doesn’t recall much of that time).
He has been honoured to receive major scholarships for music study and music awards, namely, Canberra Symphony Orchestral Scholarship (2005) and the Declan Affley Award (2002) among others.
Queensland born, Michael Patrick became interested in learning the violin when his older sister began lessons and would arrive home every Friday afternoon after her lesson with a chocolate milk. The rest his history!
Michael studied Violin and Viola at the Canberra School of Music and the Queensland Conservatorium under John Curro. He has performed in numerous bands and orchestras around Australia and overseas. From concerts with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra to regular appearances at many of the major music festivals with different bands (Mango Jam, The Noodies, Little Creatures, Present Company, Sunas), his musicianship spans a diverse range of musical genres (was once also a drummer in a teenage punk band though he doesn’t recall much of that time).
He has been honoured to receive major scholarships for music study and music awards, namely, Canberra Symphony Orchestral Scholarship (2005) and the Declan Affley Award (2002) among others.
